Behind every good musician, you can usually find a Marshall Amplifier.
It's like coffee with milk or bread with butter - the perfect fit.
From bedroom musicians to the stadium filling A-listers of the world, a Marshall is considered an essential tool of the music making trade.
But the world is moving on, and Marshall is moving with it - still at the cutting edge, still leading the way, writes Sammy Jones.
These days you don't only play a Marshall Amp, you can wear the brand on your chest, keep the sun's rays at bay with a tasty pair of Marshall specs, or even keep your beer cool in the most fabulous of fridges.
Marshall is a lifestyle brand, with a loud lifestyle range.
This summer, the iconic name teamed with another for an exclusive Fred Perry range of clothing.
"We wanted to bring two icons together," explained Grace Pantony, lifestyle brand director for Marshall.
"Fred Perry is a British brand at heart, too, and they are into the music scene, and run a Subculture night in London.
"It shows that we are more versatile than just a metal brand - that we translate across different genres...
"Jim and Fred both have really nice stories and both are self-made men from the same era."
'Jim' is Mr Marshall, of course.
The late founder of the company, it was his creativity that has helped fuel a million bands and led to him earning the name, Father of Loud.
And as we mentioned, the Fred Perry range wasn't the only newbie product emblazoned with Jim's signature to hit the market this year.
A rather wonderful range of glasses, optical and sunnies, also hit racks.
"It's cool, and fits the the brand - it's very rock n roll," Jon Ellery, Marshall's managing director, pictured above with Grace, said.
'...every musician is always wearing glasses!"
The range is currently for sale exclusively at Harvey Nichols, but will roll out nationwide at branches of Topman and Urban Outfitter stores in the new year.
A Marshall phone is on release too, and there's that most coolest of refrigerators on the block which debuted a couple of years back - a more petite version will make it to the market next month.
What would Jim make of these new retail opportunities?
"I think he would be really excited about it," said Jon, who worked closely with The Guv'nor until his passing in 2012.
"Jim was all about brand protection.
"People say Marshall are an amplification brand, and what Jim did was give the tools to the artist to make the music.
"When Jim designed the first amp back in '62, it was to allow a guitarist to make the sound he wanted, because the product wasn't out there.
"We are still a music brand, and everything evolves around the music: the fridge, beer - music, the sunglasses, festivals - music, the phone, recording - music...everything fits together.
"We always have people approaching us saying 'Do this, or do that,' and offering X amount of money to put the Marshall logo on a packet of tissues, or whatever.
"We say no, because it's not right for the brand - and we say no far more often than we say yes."
And, while the brand is widening its reach product wise, those amps are still at the very heart of the business, naturally.
"We've just launched the Astoria range, which is a boutique amp, hand-wired and made in the UK, in three models and three colours. They have been really well received.
"A lot of people are buying boutique amps, and we have the biggest boutique amp manufacturing facility in the UK.
"People don't understand that we still make everything by hand here," Jon says, gesturing around the Bletchley HQ, "They think this whole thing of a man in a shed is the most exciting thing...it just so happens that we have a big shed, with more than one man!"
And as big as the brand is, they don't forget their core roots and their smallest players.
Whether you are that bedroom musician or a stadium familiar like Marshall advocate Slash, your product satisfaction is their priority.
"People have this idea that we are huge, but we are still a small approachable company too - you can still drop your amp in and have it serviced.
"No matter how old it is, we'll still look at it," Grace says.
"Not many companies do that today. That's the sort of thing that has made us who we are, and is exactly the sort of thing that people want."
And these days, with Natal drums and the Eden bass amp range also operated by Marshall, the whole band set-up is serviced by the one company.
"We can support bands and artists in a way that other brands can't."
The business world might move quicker today than it did when Jim changed everything with that first amp, but Marshall still subscribes to his vision - to offer premium products to support musicians.
Simple as that.
"We are a heritage product that means something to people. People want something they have faith in, and know is there to last.
"We've been here for 53 years and aren't going anywhere," Jon promises, "Marshall will always succeed."
Shop Marshall: http://shop.marshallamps.com/
